When the Black Sea resort of Sochi (Russia) won the bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, Circassians were not celebrating. How could they?
The 22nd Winter Olympiad will take place on the 150th anniversary of the events Circassians describe as genocide. This was committed by imperial Russia against the indigenous people of Caucasus, to whom the land belonged. To rub salt in the wounds, Olympic athletes are scheduled to be skiing and ice-skating in Krasnaya Polyana (Red Glade), where after a fierce battle Circassians were finally defeated in 1864 (the “red” refers to the blood of those who died there). Today it’s a ski resort popular with Russia’s leaders, and other rich and famous. It is also a mass grave on which unsuspecting international sportspeople will compete in front of unsuspecting global audiences.
Circassians are the indigenous people of this Caucasian region, and Sochi was their independent Circassia’s capital until it was violently incorporated into the Russian empire in the 19th century. Arguing that Olympic developments fail to respect the site’s historic memory, Circassian organisations asked for the Games to be moved elsewhere. Russian government officials replied that this outcry was a “premeditated anti-Russian activity” and that those claiming there ever was a Circassian genocide are illiterate or conspirators.
With London Olympics in full swing, a group of Circassian activists dressed in their national costumes brought their message to the British capital. Their campaign is called No Sochi 2014, and they demand that Russia acknowledge the genocide and apologise (it hasn’t). Dana Wojokh from No Sochi 2014 explains:
Given the on-going preparations and the state’s determination it is highly unlikely the Games will be canceled, but they provide Circassians with an opportunity to organise, mobilise, and make their story known, and historical justice be put in place.
Here, professor Matthew Light of Toronto University comments on the issue:
Circassians bring their message to London 2012:
Today, the population of Circassians is around four million, according to the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation, the Hague-based international NGO that supports indigenous peoples and unrecognised /occupied territories. Only some 800,000 live in the Russian Federation – others are based in Turkey, Syria, the EU and the US.
Just like other Olympic cities, Sochi’s baggage of problems is not restricted to the Circassian issue. Environmental destruction of this UNESCO World Heritage site is another grave matter, as are accusations of corruption, displacement, and money wasting. But Sochi 2014 is so important to Russia’s international image and its president Vladimir Putin’s personal one that nothing can be left to chance.
After London and Sochi, Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro with its 2016 Olympics is next in line. Already, the poorest and the most vulnerable are paying the price for this sport extravaganza: forced replacement, demolition of homes, and other human rights abuses are well underway. In 2020, it’s Tokyo, Madrid or Istanbul.
The Olympic spirit appears to be blowing in the wind.
Multimedia: No Sochi 2014 campaign posters from No Sochi 2014 website; prof. Matthew Light video from No Sochi 2014 YouTube channel; Sochi 2014 stamps from Wikimedia Commons (file in public domain). Other images and video by the author.